1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to small depilating appliances which can be held in one hand for the removal of superfluous hairs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
French patent No. 2,334,320 describes an appliance of this type in which a rotating roller is provided for plucking-out the hairs to be removed. This depilating roller is formed by a helical spring, the turns of which are alternately opened-out, then drawn together so that the hairs can engage between said turns when these latter are opened-out in order to be subsequently gripped between them and plucked-out as a result of rotation of the roller about its own axis.
However, this appliance is of limited efficiency. This is essentially due to the fact that the hairs to be removed cannot readily engage between the turns of the rotary spring on account of their helical shape. Moreover, again by reason of the helical shape of the turns, the hairs are displaced by the turns in the transverse direction at the time of rotation of the plucking roller. This in fact has the effect of interfering with the engagement of the ends of the hairs between the turns of the spring.
In an entirely different field, there exist devices for plucking poultry which also have a rotary plucking roller. In one of these devices, a rotary drum carries at its periphery several rows of pairs of jaws which are adapted to open and close alternately in order to permit first of all the engagement of the shafts of the feathers to be plucked-out between these jaws, then gripping of the shafts by the jaws. This roller is placed at a certain distance above a comb which is intended to slide on the surface of the skin of the fowl to be plucked, whereupon the feather shafts engage between the teeth of the comb in order to be subsequently gripped by the jaws of the rotary drum. The comb has the effect of retaining the skin at the time of plucking of the feathers since the plucking operation calls for a relatively high tractive force. At the same time, however, the comb protects the skin of the fowl against any contact with the gripping jaws which are so arranged as to project from the rotary drum. Furthermore, if the comb did not exist, the jaws would strike the skin and cause extremely deep injuries.
Taking into account the fact that the gripping jaws are placed substantially in planes perpendicular to the axis of the rotary drum, engagement of the shafts of the feathers to be plucked takes place under much better conditions than in the case of hairs to be removed by the depilating appliance mentioned earlier. However, for depilation of superfluous hairs existing on a person's skin, it is not possible to employ a device similar to the plucking device mentioned above, this being so for a certain number of reasons. The first reason lies in the fact that the comb provided beneath the rotary drum would have to be eliminated since it produces an excessive spacing of said drum with respect to the skin, with the result that it would not be possible to grip hairs which are much shorter than feather shafts. However, if the comb were suppressed, the skin would in that case have no protection against the gripping jaws carried by the rotary drum. Since said jaws project from the periphery of said drum, they would consequently strike the skin and, as mentioned earlier, would result in extremely deep injuries.
It is for the reasons stated in the foregoing that the invention is directed to a depilating appliance which is designed both in order to obtain efficient engagement and gripping of hairs between the plucking elements and in order to ensure complete protection of the skin against any risk of injuries which would be caused by the plucking elements as they move against the skin.